“I know you have Alex. There’s no point denying it.”
“Fine. I have Alex. You can’t have him back. He’s mine now. I’m taking him away.”
“Ah.” Josiah sat back, still watching Neil intently. There was a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead and he looked desperately out of his depth.
“That man… Sem… is he okay?” Neil asked. “I didn’t want to hurt him, but I had to stop him following us. I had no choice.”
“He’ll be fine. So, what’s the plan, Neil? You’re improvising, aren’t you? It’s all spiralling out of control.”
“I know exactly what I’m doing.” Neil glared at him. “I didn’t expect you to find me so soon, but it’s not a problem. We won’t be here for very long. I had a helicopter booked but the bad weather has delayed our escape. When the storm passes, we’ll leave.”
“Ourescape?” Josiah gave Neil a hard stare.
“I’m taking Alex away to somewhere he can be free. He should never have been made to wear an IS tag. He’s a free spirit. He’s aLytton.”
“You’re a large part of why he was made an IS in the first place,” Josiah pointed out.
Neil’s face crumpled again. “I made a mistake. I wanted to hurt him, but I didn’t want this. I never wanted this.” He sounded desolate. “I just want us to be together, the way we were.”
“The two of you against the world, huh?” Josiah gave a wry smile. He could see that Neil meant every word. He believed this was the truth, and in a way it was.Histruth.
“Exactly. For a long time, I couldn’t do anything to help him, but I kept tabs on him as best I could.
“Your offer to buy him – where did the money come from for that?”
Neil turned away, as if considering the question, or checking that they weren’t being overheard. Josiah glanced around. The thugs who’d knocked him out weren’t in the room, and he presumed they were guarding the outside of the door – and Alex. He and Neil were completely alone in the croc factory.
“Oh… I see,” Josiah said, figuring it out. “You’ve been cooking the books. That’s pretty risky, Neil. I don’t know this Duke personally, but I do know drug cartels running out of the Quarterlands, and it’s safe to say they aren’t forgiving types. He’ll string you up by your balls when he finds out you’ve stolen his money.”
“I’ll be long gone before he finds out,” Neil said confidently. “I’ve worked for him for a long time. He trusts me.”
“I’m sure he does. That’s why he hasn’t noticed you’ve been embezzling his money, isn’t it?” Josiah knew he’d landed a punch by the way Neil’s nostrils flared.
“He’s selling croc to kids,” he snapped. “Alex used to be a croc-head, too, so I know what it’s like. It screwed up Alex’s life. It’s the reason his mum died.”
“So, you weaselled your way into Duke’s operation, made him trust you, and then you stole all his money?”
“Notallhis money I’ve been very careful about it to ensure he didn’t notice. You have no idea how lucrative his business is. I was going to use the cash to buy Alex, but now I’ll use it to take him away instead. Duke will never find us. You won’t, either. I’ve got enough money to ensure we can disappear forever. Once this storm clears, we’ll get on that helicopter, and you’ll never see either one of us again.”
“Alex can’t leave with you, Neil. He has to give evidence in a murder trial. He’s spent years living with this, endured terrible things, all to have his moment in court. He won’t run away from that.”
Neil’s lips settled into a tight line. “I was sorry to hear about Solange, but it doesn’t change anything.”
“He cared about her.”
“She wasn’t worth it. She had her chance with Alex, but she betrayed him,” Neil snapped furiously.
“So did you,” Josiah pointed out.
Neil’s hands clenched into fists, and for a moment, Josiah thought he was going to lash out, but he took a few deep breaths and controlled himself.
“I let him down, it’s true, but he let me down, too. We’ll have a fresh start when I get him away from here. It’ll be better this time.”
Josiah gazed at Neil thoughtfully. Maybe he should let him take Alex, who was resourceful enough to make his escape when he had the opportunity, and then, at least, he’d be free… But he knew Neil had a violent streak. He’d bludgeoned Sem and had probably killed Dacre; there was every chance he’d kill Alex, too, if he tried to escape. It was likely that his kind of suffocating love would tip over into murderous rage if he thought he was being rejected.
“What does Alex say about all this?” Josiah asked gently. Neil was clearly deluded and there was no point convincing himto give up his plan. However, every second he could be delayed gave Reed more time to reach them.
“Alex wants to be free. He’s grateful to me for rescuing him.”
